The Life and Possibly Death Adventures of Kel
by Aerumnous
Summary: K-D kind of... Someone's attempting to kill Kel left and right. She doesn't know who it is, but must leave Tortall before innocents get killed while trying to kill her.
1. In Which We Meet a Pig

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Hello everyone! If this fic seems a little shaky to you, it's probably because I thought of it at exactly 12:37 in the morning. I have an excuse! Yay for excuses! They're always there when you need them most

Disclaimer: I own as many as four characters in this story, when you subtract two times two from that four. Meaning I don't own any.

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Chapter One

In which we meet a Pig

"I don't know!" wailed Sir Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau. Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, called Kel by her friends, winced. Alanna was infamous for her temper. As she opened her mouth to reply, their conversation was cut short when the door opened suddenly and a fat, pink pig entered the room and started searching around the room for food anywhere and everywhere it could get stick it's nose into.

"My, aren't you a cute little piggy!" Cooed Alanna, "Yes you are, yes you are! I wonder what your name is? How strange, it doesn't look quite like that of a _regular_ pig you would usually see in the market."

They both stared dumbly as the pig opened its mouth and let out a giant snort, which sounded very similar to the words, "It's T'lulu."

"Kel, my love!" Yelled an oh-so-familiar voice, "Have you seen" But when Neal entered the room, and saw the sight to be seen, he let his question hang in the air, as he raised his eyebrow, while a look of confusing and humor flashed across his face.

"Don't say anything, Meathead" Warned Kel, "We only know as much as you see, no more."

"I see" exclaimed Neal, looking smug. He walked in and wrapped his arm around Kel's shoulder. Kel prepared for one of his cutting, sarcastic remarks.

"So you were just in a room, fighting with Alanna, as usual, and the door magically opened, allowing the pig to enter, and be snuggled by Alanna here" Alanna jumped away from the pig.

"I wasn't snuggling it. I was just making sure it wasn't hurt or had any cuts." muttered Alanna.

"While you stand there watching her. I find that kind of hard to believe."

"No! No, that's exactly what happened, I swear! It just entered and started walking around!" Protested Kel, desperate to get Neal to understand. He smiled mockingly, and stared into Kel's eyes, his own emerald green ones sparkling.

"I'm sure that's what happened. Oh, yes. I meant to ask you if you know where Yuki is. She just disappeared this morning, and I've looked everywhere. That woman is starting to annoy me."

"Have you checked the stables? She probably just went on a morning ride, to get away from you." Kel replied. Pushing Neal away, she headed towards the door. "Oh, by the way, Alanna, why don't we continue this argue about, whatever it was about, later?"

"Fine with me." Alanna murmured, glowering at Neal. She was still mad at her former squire for making fun of her.

Kel smiled and walked out the door, planning to go to the stables and take a morning ride with Peachblossom. Alanna had stormed into her room and grabbed her before she had a chance to do her morning exercises. Kel didn't realize it, but strangely enough the pig, whom, while Neal and Kel were talking, Alanna had dubbed Porko, followed her.

When she reached the stables, and was getting ready to saddle Peachblossom, Porko let out a high-pitched squeal. Kel, who had now idea it had followed her until now, jumped. However, when she realized what it was, she let out a loud curse.

"Is that Kel I hear cursing?" asked someone inside the stable.

Kel froze. It was Dom, whom she had had a crush on since she became a knight, about three years ago. She barely managed to shake her surprise off and put on her blank Yamani stare before the bright blue eyes of Domitan of Masbolle came into view.

"Kel! It's so nice to see you!" He grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight, friendly hug. Kel almost shivered with happiness. Laughing, she pulled away from him, only to be grabbed and wrapped up again, this time by huge hands.

"Raoul!" Kel squeaked. She turned around and smiled at the man that could be passed as a small giant. "When did you guys get back?"

"Just right now. The centaurs had already run away before we made it to Port Legann."

"I hate centaurs," Kel commented grimly, "They disturb me."

Raoul laughed. "So how's it been at the castle? Any important things we should know happened while we were gone?"

"Neal is back together with Yuki, but I wouldn't consider that important. It's been pretty boring here without you guys." Kel replied, "Oh, yes. There is a ball tomorrow. Jonathan said that he had something to tell the court. Maybe I will actually get to leave this place and _finally_ go somewhere and help the kingdom."

"I'm sure you will. Eventually." Dom said, in attempt to comfort Kel. Kel looked at him, thankful that at least he believed in her. She was beginning to not believe in herself.

"Well, I am going back to my rooms to have a nice, warm bath, and get some sleep." Raoul 

"I doubt you'll get much sleep, Raoul. Buri has been worried sick about you ever since you left. She trusts centaurs as much as I do." teased Kel.

Raoul grinned and walked away toward the castle. Soon Kel was alone with Dom. She looked around nervously, remembered why she was there in the first place, and started mounting Peachblossom.

"Kel?" Whispered Dom.

"Yes?"

"Mind if I come with you?"

"Yes! I mean no. I mean - oh nevermind. Do what you will. I don't mind."

"Great! Um, Kel?"

"What?"

"What's with the pig?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. C'mon Porko. You can come along too, if you can keep up."

Porko snorted happily, and then did something unexpectedly: He grew wings and started flying about the stables. Peachblossom snorted, not used to a flying pig. Kel and Dom stared at the zooming pig, looked at each other, and then shrugged. Many weird things happened in Tortall. 

"Maybe Numair put a spell on it?" Offered Dom. Kel nodded. That had to be it.

While they rode out of the stables, a large, shadowy man crept out of the shadows.

"Blast it! Why does Dom have to ruin everything! Had he not been there, T'lulu could've had the ability to kill _Lady Knight_" - he spat out the lady knight as if it were a disease - "Keladry of Mindelan once and for all!" Cursing, the man attempted to return to his hideaway spot in the darkest corner of the stable, but walked into fresh horse manure. Cursing, the shadow-man wiped off the manure with his fingers, tripped, fell backwards, and landed right in another pile of manure. Curses sprang from the man's mouth.

"This is the last time I enter another stable without boots and a stable boy! Arg! I will get you Kel! It's all your fault!" bawled the man.

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Just outside, Freckle and Peg were munching on berries when they heard the shadow-man talking about their friend and feeder, Keladry. Peg chirped in alarm. Freckle chirped in surprise. They both chirped in agreement that they should warn Kel of her unknown enemy, wanting her dead.


	2. In Which Someone Tries to Kill Kel

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Hello everyone! I'm back with the second chapter! We left off with Kel going on a ride with Dom, and Freckle and Peg overhearing Shadow Man. Read and review, please! I NEED reviews!

Disclaimer: No, like before, I do not own any. Although, if you count Shadow Man, then yes I do, but you don't know the real identity of him, so he could be someone already owned by the wonderful TP. I won't spoil the fun for you yet.

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Chapter 2

In Which Someone Tries to Kill Kel

Kel and Dom rode in silence for most of the time. Occasionally, one would attempt to start a conversation, but most of the time, the conversation ended too quickly. 

A couple minutes had passed since the last conversation had failed when a voice, faint but a voice nonetheless, yelled Kel's name.

"Kel! Kel! Kel!" It was Yuki, galloping towards them. "Kel-Oh, hi Dom I didn't know you were riding with her. KEL! Stop!" Yuki was somehow running out of breath, but yet she was riding on a horse.

Kel sighed, and stopped. Dom cursed under his breath. Yuki could sometimes get caught talking for hours on end if she felt that what she was talking about was important.

"Kel, guess what happened right now?"

"What is it this time?"

"Neal asked me to marry him! He's behind me right now, going too slow, like always Anyway, Kel, I saw you and just had to tell you! But, don't you usually practice with your glaive in the mornings?" Yuki looked confused. Then she remembered that Kel wasn't riding alone. A grin formed on her face. She opened her mouth to comment, but Neal's voice rang out before she could reply.

"Yuki? Yukimi! Where have you run off to, my love? Where are you?"

Yuki sighed. Kel grinned. Dom grunted.

"I'm starting to think that I shouldn't have said yes." Yuki muttered. To Neal, she yelled, "Over here, Neal! In the clearing!"

Everyone heard Neal curse, then burst out laughing when he walked into the clearing covered with mud, leading his horse toward them.

"Be quiet, or I'll-I'll-I don't know what I'll do, but you won't like it! Yuki" Neal begged, "Can we go back to the palace now?"

"Alright, alright. Let's not get mad at each other, now. We're not even married yet, remember?" Yuki replied.

Neal smiled. Yuki smiled back. Kel and Dom laughed and laughed and laughed until tears came to their eyes, and their stomachs hurt, and they had to go to the bathroom. By the time they could stop laughing, and had calmed down, Yuki and Neal had left.

"I guess we should head back, too" exclaimed Dom.

"Yeah, sure. Um, Dom, I want to go somewhere really fast, so you can go back, but I'll get back later, okay?"

Dom cursed under his breath. 

"Okay, Kel. But before you leave can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, ask away."

Dom dismounted. Kel followed suit. 

"You know how there is the ball tomorrow? Well, if you aren't going with anyone, because I'm not going with anyone-Kel, look out!"

An arrow shot through the trees straight toward Kel. Dom ran to her, and pushed her away. The arrow had missed its mark, but made another.

"Dom! No!" Kel screamed. She ran and ripped the end of the arrow, much to the dismay of Dom, picked him up, much to the dismay of Dom again, helped him onto her horse, mounted, and started galloping to the castle. 

Dom whispered something, but it was too soft for Kel to hear.

"What?" She exclaimed, trying to sound like nothing had happened, and that Dom didn't have an arrow through him.

"I'm fine." Dom muttered, and smiled, trying to move to face her, then winced at the pain.

"No, you're not, Dom. You have an arrow in you. Now, I'm going to take you to the palace healer. Then you will be fine." She retorted.

When they got to the stable, she didn't even care to tie up Peachblossom. Half dragging, half carrying Dom, she rushed to the palace. 

"Dom" she whispered, "I know this might not be the right time, but I think I love you."

Dom laughed uneasily. 

"That's funny, because I think I love you, too. Oh, I was going to ask you, before the arrow came, if you would care to go to the ball with me. I guess the moment was kind of ruined though." 

Kel stopped walking. She hesitated, then gently pressed her lips on Dom's. Her whole body grew giddy, and she gained strength with that soft, sweet kiss. She ran. Kel ran to the palace healer, now worried for Dom more than ever.

Duke Baird himself grabbed his nephew, and took him into another room.

Minutes, hours, days passed, and every second, as Kel was eating, or practicing with her glaive, or just walking around, she was thinking of Dom. _Why hasn't he come out of the healing rooms yet?_ Kel wondered.

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Three days after Dom had been struck with the arrow there was a knock on Kel's door. She opened it to find Duke Baird staring at her grimly. Her spirits sank.

"Kel, I thought you might want to know. The arrow Dom was pierced with" He trailed off.

Kel started pacing the room, tripped, and almost fell over, but neither of them were in the mood to laugh.

"The arrow was poisoned, Kel. We trying our best, but it's getting worse. All we can do now is just keep him alive." Duke Baird managed to mutter.

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Five leagues away, a feminine voice rang out from an alley.

"You fool! All you had to do was shoot the arrow and hit one huge target! But no! You had to hit someone else instead! I gave you to her on a silver platter, but _you _screwed it all up! The things I have to do to live with you people!"

"I'm very sorry, m'lady! It would've hit her, but a man pushed her out of the way! I swear it would have hit her! I can't get her alone!" whimpered Shadow Man.

"Tell you what. I'll let you have another chance. If you kill her, you get the prize. You fail to kill her, and I will give you-and your little pig too-the slowest, most painful death any of you have ever had!"

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That's it. Reviews please! I will die the slowest, most painful death I have ever had if I don't get reviews!


	3. In Which Kitten attempts to save the day...

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Hello everyone, I'm back! I know it has been a long time, but school is finally catching up on me. I've been procrastinating way too much this past week, and now it's coming back to haunt me. But hey, who cares about my life! Let's see what my hands type up this time Will Dom survive?

Disclaimer: I would like to own all of them, but alas, I don't.

Chapter Three

In Which Kitten attempts to save the day and the Sparrows warn Kel

When Kel reached the royal healer rooms, out of breath from running, she saw Alanna sitting next to a very pale figure with dull blue eyes laying on a bed. All of the healers were standing around the bed, whispering words to quiet to hear.

Behind Kel, a loud trill made her wince and move away, just as Kitten walked through the doorway. Kitten then moved near Alanna, seeming to watch her carefully.

A few seconds after Kitten had made it clear to everyone she was in the room, Tkaa walked in smoothly.

"Kitten says that she can help Dom somehow." Translated Tkaa. "I didn't realize that she had healing powers. Only once every twenty generations does a dragon gain healing powers, but they are extremely strong."

Kitten put her face right up to Dom's right ear, breathing steadily. 

"You might want to exit. Kitten says that sometimes her voice can get too loud for human ears." Commented Tkaa.

Alanna exited quickly, a worried looked on her face, followed closely by the healers, whispering complaints to each other.

"I'm not leaving." Muttered Kel.

"Very well, but I don't think you will like it." Exclaimed Tkaa. Kel crossed her arms across her chest and didn't reply. Tkaa turned her head in the direction of Kitten, and Kel, after a moment of hesitation, did as well.

Kitten was standing by Dom, her muzzle open just slightly. Then, unexpectedly, Porko flew in from the window and knocked Kitten over. After that he continued to fly around the room, squealing loudly. 

"Porko, stop! Stop!" Yelled Kel, but Porko didn't hear. Finally Tkaa talked in pig-talk, or something like that, and Porko settled down, landing on top of Dom, and lying down stubbornly.

"Why, it's almost as if he doesn't want Dom to be saved!" commented Kel.

Kitten jumped up from the ground and stared angrily at Porko, then let out a trill that made Kel's ears ring. Porko screeched and crumpled up in a ball. Kitten continued to trill, and didn't stop even when Porko fell off the bed and started rolling around on the floor. His wings shriveled up, and his face became mutated, until all that was left of him was a small piggy bank.

At the same moment, Dom groaned and opened his eyes.

"My head hurts." He exclaimed.

"Dom! You're okay!" Yelled Kel happily. She ran to him, and grabbed him up from the bed, hugging him furiously.

"Ouch! Watch the head, Kel!" Complained Dom.

"Sorry," Apologized Kel, "I'm just so happy you're not dead!" she then turned toward Kitten.

"Thank you so much for saving Dom's life Kitten! But _what_ did you do to Porko? What will Alanna think? Oh no, if she finds out Porko's gone, I won't live through tomorrow!"

"Do not worry," Assured Tkaa, "I presume the effects are only temporary, at least that is what Kitten says. But-" At this point Tkaa glanced at Porko, then back at Kel, "I suggest you keep an eye on him."

Kel opened her mouth to question Tkaa, but two sparrows flying in through the window chirped loudly and interrupted her.

"What are they saying?" Asked Dom.

"I don't know, but it seems to be something about danger. I think we should go to Daine, because it must be important." Replied Kel.

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Two hours later, Daine turned towards the eager face of Kel grimly.

"I'm afraid they have some very bad news." Exclaimed Daine, "Of course, there is no proof, but I don't see why they would lie about something like this."

"Well What are they saying?" Asked Kel.

"I'm sorry Kel, but they are saying that someone is deliberately trying to kill you, and they heard that the pig, Porko I think you call him, is an accomplice."

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Wow, so suspenseful. But aren't you glad that Dom is okay? That is all that matters! Hmm. It was interesting that Kitten had secret powers, though, wasn't it? And that she could heal people and make flying, speaking pigs turn into piggy banks. **That's all for now! Read and review please!**


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